Sara Thornton | |
|---|---|
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| Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner | |
| In office May 2019 – April 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Kevin Hyland |
| Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council | |
| In office April 2015 – May 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Hugh Orde (as Chair of the ACPO) |
| Succeeded by | Martin Hewitt, QPM |
| Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police | |
| In office 2007–2015 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Neyroud |
| Succeeded by | Francis Habgood |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 December 1962 Poole, Dorset, England |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | Durham University Wolfson College, Cambridge |
| Awards | Queen's Police Medal (2006) Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2011) Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2019) |
Dame Sara Joanne Thornton, DBE, QPM (born 27 December 1962) was the UK's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner from May 2019 until April 2022.[1] She was appointed[2] by the Home Secretary at the time, Sajid Javid, in succession to Kevin Hyland who left the post in May 2018.[3]
She is a retired British police officer who was the first Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the former Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police[4][5] and Vice-President of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). She was the second consecutive head of the Thames Valley Police to move onto leadership of a national policing body; at Thames Valley she replaced former Chief Constable Peter Neyroud who, in January 2007, moved to the role of Chief executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency. As of 2022, she is Professor of Practice in modern slavery policy at the University of Nottingham's Rights Lab.[6][7]
- ^ "The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner". Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "New Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner announced". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner: letter of resignation". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "Sara Thornton appointed top cop". Newbury Today. 28 February 2007. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011.
- ^ "Force spending £1m on interpreters". The Guardian. 20 September 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Dame Sara Thornton appointed as Professor of Practice at the University of Nottingham". www.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Home Office accused of deliberately leaving anti-slavery post unfilled". the Guardian. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.